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Birth of the King in Bethlehem
5 “[a]Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
[b]They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will (A)smite the judge of Israel on the cheek.
2 “[c]But as for (B)you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From (C)you One will go forth for Me to be (D)ruler in Israel.
[d]His goings forth are (E)from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
3 Therefore He will (F)give them up until the time
When she (G)who is in labor has borne a child.
Then the (H)remainder of His brethren
Will return to the sons of Israel.
4 And He will arise and (I)shepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will [e]remain,
Because [f]at that time He will be great
To the (J)ends of the earth.
5 This One (K)will be our peace.
When the (L)Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our [g]citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
6 They will (M)shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of (N)Nimrod at its entrances;
And He will (O)deliver us from the Assyrian
When he attacks our land
And when he tramples our territory.
7 Then the (P)remnant of Jacob
Will be among many peoples
Like (Q)dew from the Lord,
Like (R)showers on vegetation
Which do not wait for man
Or delay for the sons of men.
8 The remnant of Jacob
Will be among the nations,
Among many peoples
(S)Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Which, if he passes through,
(T)Tramples down and (U)tears,
And there is (V)none to rescue.
9 Your hand will be (W)lifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies will be cut off.
10 “It will be in that day,” declares the Lord,
“(X)That I will cut off your (Y)horses from among you
And destroy your chariots.
11 “I will also cut off the (Z)cities of your land
And tear down all your (AA)fortifications.
12 “I will cut off (AB)sorceries from your hand,
And you will have fortune-tellers no more.
13 “(AC)I will cut off your carved images
And your sacred pillars from among you,
So that you will no longer bow down
To the work of your hands.
14 “I will root out your [h](AD)Asherim from among you
And destroy your cities.
15 “And I will (AE)execute vengeance in anger and wrath
On the nations which have not obeyed.”
God’s Indictment of His People
6 Hear now what the Lord is saying,
“Arise, plead your case [i]before the mountains,
And let the hills hear your voice.
2 “Listen, you mountains, to the indictment of the Lord,
And you enduring (AF)foundations of the earth,
Because the (AG)Lord has a case against His people;
Even with Israel He will dispute.
3 “(AH)My people, (AI)what have I done to you,
And (AJ)how have I wearied you? Answer Me.
4 “Indeed, I (AK)brought you up from the land of Egypt
And (AL)ransomed you from the house of slavery,
And I sent before you (AM)Moses, Aaron and (AN)Miriam.
5 “My people, remember now
What (AO)Balak king of Moab counseled
And what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
And from (AP)Shittim to (AQ)Gilgal,
So [j]that you might know the (AR)righteous acts of the Lord.”
What God Requires of Man
6 (AS)With what shall I come to the Lord
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with (AT)burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
7 Does the Lord take delight in (AU)thousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my (AV)firstborn for my rebellious acts,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has (AW)told you, O man, what is good;
And (AX)what does the Lord require of you
But to (AY)do justice, to (AZ)love [k]kindness,
And to walk [l](BA)humbly with your God?
9 The voice of the Lord will call to the city—
And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name:
“Hear, O tribe. Who has appointed [m]its time?
10 “Is there yet a man in the wicked house,
Along with treasures of (BB)wickedness
And a [n](BC)short measure that is cursed?
11 “Can I justify wicked (BD)scales
And a bag of deceptive weights?
12 “For the rich men of the [o]city are full of (BE)violence,
Her residents speak (BF)lies,
And their (BG)tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 “So also I will make you (BH)sick, striking you down,
(BI)Desolating you because of your sins.
14 “You will eat, but you will (BJ)not be satisfied,
And your [p]vileness will be in your midst.
You will try to remove for safekeeping,
But you will (BK)not preserve anything,
And what you do preserve I will give to the sword.
15 “You will sow but you will (BL)not reap.
You will tread the olive but will not anoint yourself with oil;
And the grapes, but you will (BM)not drink wine.
16 “The statutes of (BN)Omri
And all the works of the house of (BO)Ahab are observed;
And in their devices you (BP)walk.
Therefore I will give you up for (BQ)destruction
And [q]your inhabitants for (BR)derision,
And you will bear the (BS)reproach of My people.”
The Prophet Acknowledges
7 Woe is me! For I am
Like the fruit pickers, like the (BT)grape gatherers.
There is not a cluster of grapes to eat,
Or a (BU)first-ripe fig which [r]I crave.
2 The [s]godly person has (BV)perished from the land,
And there is no upright person among men.
All of them lie in wait for (BW)bloodshed;
Each of them hunts the other with a (BX)net.
3 Concerning evil, both hands do it (BY)well.
The prince asks, also the judge, for a (BZ)bribe,
And a great man speaks the desire of his soul;
So they weave it together.
4 The best of them is like a (CA)briar,
The most upright like a (CB)thorn hedge.
The day when you post your watchmen,
Your (CC)punishment will come.
Then their (CD)confusion will occur.
5 Do not (CE)trust in a neighbor;
Do not have confidence in a friend.
From her who lies in your bosom
Guard [t]your lips.
6 For (CF)son treats father contemptuously,
Daughter rises up against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
(CG)A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
God Is the Source of Salvation and Light
7 But as for me, I will (CH)watch expectantly for the Lord;
I will (CI)wait for the God of my salvation.
My (CJ)God will hear me.
8 (CK)Do not rejoice over me, O (CL)my enemy.
Though I fall I will (CM)rise;
Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a (CN)light for me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He (CO)pleads my case and executes justice for me.
He will bring me out to the (CP)light,
And I will see His [u](CQ)righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see,
And shame will cover her who (CR)said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will look on her;
[v]At that time she will [w]be (CS)trampled down
Like mire of the streets.
11 It will be a day for (CT)building your walls.
On that day will your boundary be extended.
12 It will be a day when [x]they will (CU)come to you
From Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
From Egypt even to the [y]Euphrates,
Even from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
13 And the earth will become (CV)desolate because of her inhabitants,
On account of the (CW)fruit of their deeds.
14 (CX)Shepherd Your people with Your (CY)scepter,
The flock of Your [z]possession
Which dwells by itself in the woodland,
In the midst of [aa]a fruitful field.
Let them feed in (CZ)Bashan and Gilead
(DA)As in the days of old.
15 “As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt,
I will show [ab](DB)you miracles.”
16 Nations (DC)will see and be ashamed
Of all their might.
They will (DD)put their hand on their mouth,
Their ears will be deaf.
17 They will (DE)lick the dust like a serpent,
Like (DF)reptiles of the earth.
They will come (DG)trembling out of their [ac]fortresses;
To the Lord our God they will come in (DH)dread
And they will be afraid before You.
18 Who is a God like You, who (DI)pardons iniquity
And passes over the rebellious act of the (DJ)remnant of His [ad]possession?
He does not (DK)retain His anger forever,
Because He (DL)delights in [ae]unchanging love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
(DM)He will tread our iniquities under foot.
Yes, You will (DN)cast all [af]their sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 You will give [ag](DO)truth to Jacob
And [ah]unchanging love to Abraham,
Which You (DP)swore to our forefathers
From the days of old.
An Interlude
7 After this I saw (A)four angels standing at the (B)four corners of the earth, holding back (C)the four winds of the earth, (D)so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending (E)from the rising of the sun, having the (F)seal of (G)the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the (H)four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “(I)Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have (J)sealed the bond-servants of our God on their (K)foreheads.”
The 144,000
4 And I heard the (L)number of those who were sealed, (M)one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, 6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, 7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.
A Multitude from the Tribulation
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from (N)every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing (O)before the throne and (P)before the Lamb, clothed in (Q)white robes, and (R)palm branches were in their hands; 10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“(S)Salvation to our God (T)who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 And all the angels were standing (U)around the throne and around (V)the elders and the (W)four living creatures; and they (X)fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“(Y)Amen, (Z)blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. (AA)Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders (AB)answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the (AC)white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14 I [a]said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the (AD)great tribulation, and they have (AE)washed their robes and made them (AF)white in the (AG)blood of the Lamb. 15 For this reason, they are (AH)before the throne of God; and they (AI)serve Him day and night in His [b](AJ)temple; and (AK)He who sits on the throne will spread His (AL)tabernacle over them. 16 (AM)They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun [c]beat down on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their (AN)shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the [d](AO)water of life; and (AP)God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Vanity of Idols.
135 [a](A)Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O (B)servants of the Lord,
2 You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the (C)courts of the house of our God!
3 [c]Praise [d]the Lord, for (D)the Lord is good;
(E)Sing praises to His name, (F)for it is lovely.
4 For [e]the Lord has (G)chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His [f](H)own possession.
5 For I know that (I)the Lord is great
And that our Lord is (J)above all gods.
6 (K)Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
7 [g]He (L)causes the [h]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who (M)makes lightnings for the rain,
Who (N)brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
8 [i]He (O)smote the firstborn of Egypt,
[j]Both of man and beast.
9 [k]He sent (P)signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
Upon (Q)Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 [l](R)He (S)smote many nations
And slew mighty kings,
11 (T)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
And (U)Og, king of Bashan,
And (V)all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12 And He (W)gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 Your (X)name, O Lord, is everlasting,
Your [m]remembrance, O Lord, [n]throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will (Y)judge His people
And (Z)will have compassion on His servants.
15 The (AA)idols of the nations are but silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.